Spoils of War
by Velvet mace
Summary: What is Azula to do when even death doesn't seem to hold the Avatar down? Well, if she can't beat him, she'll just have to have the Dai Li brainwash him over to her side.   First step:  Aquire appropriate bait. Post 3 x 08 Alt. Timeline, Ty Lee x Sokka.
1. Step 1: Aquire Appropriate Bait

Azula chose the Jade Room for the meeting, in part because it was housed quite a distance from the main Palace and her father's notice, and in part because the coloration might do something to put the Earth Kingdom guest at ease. White washed walls were offset by ebony decorative lattices, but instead of the usual stirring red banners, there were much calmer nooks, each housing a jade statuette or vase, or some other treasure culled from the invasion. The room itself might have been a gallery for some extremely wealthy Earth Kingdom noble.

The Dai Li officer knelt in front of her, forehead touching the woven reed floor, his queue sliding off his shoulder like a rope around his neck. She saw just the faintest sheen of sweat on his forehead when he raised himself up again. His eyes were downcast as well they should be. Nonetheless she could tell the room had some effect on him.

"As you can see from the letters, your family is in good health and being treated quite well," she drawled. "I especially enjoyed your son's message. So cute. Is he nine?"

"Eight, your Highness."

"His calligraphy is quite accomplished for that age."

"Thank you, Your Highness."

Azula leaned forward in her throne and spoke with calculated gentleness. "It truly is my intention to reunite you with your family as soon as possible. The fire nation has great need of your services back in Ba Sing Se. However, before I can let you go, I must be sure that there is someone here in the Fire Nation who can replace your _invaluable_expertise. Have you chosen your apprentices yet?"

"Yes, Your Highness." He bowed his head forward a bit. "The rooms have been set up, and machines constructed. I have personally supervised the distillation of medicines required. It is merely a matter of teaching them the proper phrasing and intonation for the conditioning to hold."

"Tell me," said Azula using her more natural crisp tones. "Will your techniques do more than just instill sheep-like complacency?"

"They are quite effective for producing fearless warriors as well, Your Highness," assured the man.

"Yes, well that wasn't exactly what I was thinking." Azula brushed her chin with the tips of her painted fingernails. "Can it produce affection? Loyalty? Love?"

The officer blinked. "Y-yes, your Highness. I see no reason why it couldn't. Loyalty has been well tested. The others, I- I don't see why not. If that is what you wish."

"And what would cause your conditioning to break down?"

The Dai Li's face set grimly. "Poor phrasing is the biggest risk. If the subject is given conflicting orders, his own will naturally will reassert itself. You must be very careful what you want your candidate to do, and try to be neither too specific nor too broad. And do not put him in situations that would test his belief. But Your Highness, should the conditioning start to fail, it is a simple enough matter to repeat the process. Each candidate is given a specific trigger phrase that will make him completely complacent for a limited amount of time. That can be used to return him for reconditioning."

"And what of the personality of the candidate. If he is strong willed – what then?"

The Dai Li relaxed with confidence. "That makes no difference. Strong or weak they all fall eventually."

Azula smiled. "Excellent. I'll have a test candidate for you in a week or so. You are dismissed."

The man touched his head to the mat once more, then quickly rose and shuffled out of the room. Azula sat back in the throne and considered. The fall of Ba Sing Se had been quite productive indeed. It had taken her a while to realize just how productive. Too long actually. Had she come up with this plan back in Ba Sing Se it would have saved her quite a bit of awkwardness now. But better late than never.

It wasn't all bad, it seemed, that the avatar was still alive. Had he died the way she had initially planned, it would simply put off the confrontation for another couple of decades at most. Searching for the new Avatar amongst the Water Tribe would be costly in manpower and resources, in a time when all of both would be needed towards rebuilding and solidifying her empire.

Yes it was far, far better that he be alive – so that she could neutralize him, but not in the clumsy way her father had planned. The Firelord had a prison ready for the poor boy. A grim place, lonely, designed to keep the air bender alive but only barely, so that he would be too weak to break himself free. Azula had her doubts that even under the extreme conditions of iron shackles in a stale dry room the Avatar could truly be kept for long.

Better to make a prison of his mind. The brainwashing techniques of the Dai Li were ideal. Instead of binding him with chains, she would bind him with words, and instead of honing his powers on diet of misery and pain, she would soften him with comfort and decadence. She would turn his loyalty for the people of the world into loyalty for _her_. And with him by her side, there _would_ be peace at last – a peace as great and as long as glorious as the one envisioned by her great grandfather.

And as for her end of the deal, she had always known that she would have to marry diplomatically. The Avatar was not a bad choice. At least he wasn't old and fat.

Ah but she was ahead of herself. Before she even dared let the boy get too close, she needed to test the theory on someone considerably less dangerous.

"Guard," Azula spoke up. A pillar standing near the door stirred, turned and took two steps into the room, then bowed respectfully, palm to fist. "Send in Ty Lee."

Minutes later, Ty Lee padded in with a huge smile. Unlike Dai Li officer, she neither bowed nor lowered her eyes. Azula allowed her to be familiar – to a point. "So are you done with all your official work for the day?" Ty Lee asked. "Because there is the most _gorgeous_ display of flowers at the arboretum – and ooh, that's pretty!" Ty Lee stopped to admire a three foot tall Jade dragon. "I've never been in this room before. It's kind of like a treasure chest."

Azula smiled indulgently. "Spoils of war: tribute from various Earth Kingdom houses, in thanks for our kind rule. And proof that Earth bending talent is wasted on warfare. Once this war is over, I shall order all Earth benders to put their skills to beautifying the Empire." Azula then leaned forward, bending her head to rest on her hands. She let her eye gleam conspiratorially, a look that Ty Lee picked up immediately on.

"And speaking of spoils of war, I have a proposition for you. Consider it a challenge – and a thank you, from me to you."

Ty Lee's eyes grew huge. "Oooh, do tell."

"What do you think about the Avatar's Water Tribe companion, the boy?"

"Sokka?" She asked, surprised. "Oh, I like him! He's cute – and smart, and brave, and –"

"And yours," said Azula.

Ty Lee's mouth hung open for a moment. "Mine? In what way?" Ty Lee blushed.

"In every way you want. As a servant, or a friend, or a lover. I've already given my brother to Mai, it seems only fitting that I should do you a similar favor. I hate to see you feeling lonely."

Ty Lee's smile was a bit strained. "Why, how … generous… of you, Azula. But he is the enemy, how would this work?"

"Oh Ty Lee, now that victory is inevitable, we need to stop thinking in such terms. Sokka isn't our enemy," said Azula, with an expansive gesture. "He just being stubborn and clinging to a mirage of hope. When he becomes disillusioned, which he will, eventually, just the way the conquered always do, he will come to find peace and reassurance with his place. I'm sure you can give him good reason to embrace the Fire Nation, and put his potential to our purposes. I trust you not to fail me."

A slight sheen of sweat raised up on Ty Lee's brow, but her smile didn't waver. "As you wish Azula. I will do my best."

Azula laughed at Ty Lee's poorly hidden distress. "Oh don't worry, I have a little something up my sleeve that will speed up the process. In just a few short weeks, I predict Sokka will be honored to please you in any fashion you desire."

-------

Sokka peered at the bags hanging from hooks off a stall. As useful as his leather pack was, it didn't quite replace the green bag he'd picked up in the Earth Kingdom. Momo needed a better hiding spot than Aang's shirt. And Sokka missed having the little lemur next to him. He paused to check the stitching on one. Too girlie? Yeah. Too bad, because it actually was quite attractive.

The jabs to his back were so sudden he couldn't place the sensation until he felt his legs turn noodley and numb. He collapsed sideways onto the dusty pavers with a slight oomph.

"Hi Sokka!" came a bright voice, and he saw a girl bending deeply over him, long braid dangling down to tickle his nose. Sokka pried his eyes away from her very generous cleavage to her somewhat familiar face. The large eyes, the huge smile, the pixie like nose. Yeah, that was one of Azula's evil henchman. Oh, crap.

"I – I'm afraid you've got the wrong person," Sokka managed to gasp out. "My name is, is, Lee."

Ty Lee straightened up and laughed. "Oh don't be silly, I recognize you. Growing your hair out isn't much of a disguise, you know. I can still see that strange ponytail you used to have. Though I approve of the clothes. They look much better on you than that shapeless water tribe smock."

"Aang isn't with me," said Sokka, switching gears. "We had a big fight and went our separate ways days ago." Hey, it was worth a try.

Ty Lee giggled, "You are a terrible liar, you know. The Avatar just left you not half an hour ago. I imagine he is half way back to that camp of yours up in the hills. My spies have been watching you for three days waiting for him to leave you alone. I was beginning to think I'd have to lure him away from you somehow."

Lure _him_ away from _me? _For a second Sokka couldn't quite grasp the concept, but then it fell into place. Great, it was his turn to be bait to sucker the Avatar into some elaborate trap. What was wrong with direct confrontation? Had it gone out of style sometime while he wasn't paying attention?

As unmanly as it was to play the damsel in distress, Sokka had done it before. He knew the drill: look helpless and stupid, and wait for the enemy to turn his back. Then turn the tables and get the hell out. Yep. Shouldn't be too difficult. Looking helpless and stupid was a bit of a specialty of his actually.

Meanwhile, Sokka wondered if Fire Kingdom prisons were more comfortable than Earth Kingdom ones.

While he pondered, three Fire Nation soldiers stepped out from the Market place alleys. Sokka fought to get his muscles to move, but before he could do much more than limply swish his arm around the soldiers had irons around his wrists and ankles.

One of the soldiers pulled Sokka's sword from its sheath and turned the blade in his hand, appraisingly. Great, now his wonderful meteoric iron sword was going to be in the hands of an enemy. Who knew who would end up with it; probably some clod on the front lines who wouldn't know fine weapon craft from a stick with a nail. Bye-bye beautiful sword. Sokka sulked.

The soldier swished it around clumsily, nearly catching a nearby pole with the backswing. "Hey, careful with that," Sokka admonished, wincing. "It's one of a kind, made by a swords master!"

The soldier regarded Sokka sharply, then deliberately put the point into a groove between the pavers and made as if to snap the blade.

"Don't break his weapon!" ordered Ty Lee. "He will want that back!"

"Yeah! I want that back! Wait, you are going to give me back my weapon?" He lifted an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Eventually," said Ty Lee brightly. "If all goes to Azula's plans. Which they will, don't worry."

"Curiously, that's not that reassuring to me," said Sokka.

Ty Lee let out a shrill whistle, and a second or two later a rather forbidding looking black carriage rolled up. The wood sides were reinforced with straps of iron, and the small windows were barred. The soldiers lifted him like a sack and put him onto the bench of the carriage. Sokka struggled not to slip bonelessly off of the hard bench. With a great deal of effort his spine straightened and he got himself more or less balanced.

Hopefully this wouldn't be too long a trip. How long would it take before the others realized he was in trouble? Was it too much to hope that they were just taking him to the local lock-up?

Ty Lee vaulted into the carriage and closed the door. She then sat down on the bench across from Sokka. Noticing his expression and she mirrored his pout momentarily. "Oh don't be so glum. I'm going to take really good care of you! I've made sure there is plenty of meat waiting for us at the inn. Hedge-gopher – your favorite."

Inn sounded an awful lot like they were taking him someplace far away. On the other hand … mmm… delicious Hedge-gopher.

"Hey," said Sokka suddenly. "How did you know I like Hedge-gopher." There was something awfully dewy-eyed about the look she was giving him. And all this kindness and consideration was a new twist to the whole prisoner of war experience. Seriously, who treats their enemies to inns or meat?

"You've ordered it at every restaurant it's been available."

Okay, that's rather creepily specific knowledge.

"I've been keeping track of your movements since you left your home in the South Pole," explained Ty Lee in answer to his quizzical look. "Well, okay not me specifically, but rather Azula's spies. And not actually you, but the Avatar, but since where he goes you go, it amounts to the same thing. You know you folks are awfully random. It would have been tough to follow you if you didn't stir things up so much everywhere you went. Luckily for me you've been following a more or less straight line since you got to the Fire Nation. All I had to do to find you was follow the reports of weird incidents."

"Weird incidents?"

"Yeah, you know, fires putting themselves out without anyone's help. Polluted rivers suddenly clean. Just like a row of little dots across the map. Tell me, Sokka, were you trying to keep a low profile?"

Sokka reddened.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you!" said Ty Lee suddenly a flutter. "It's just that Azula thinks that you guys aren't capable of lying low, while Zuko thinks you are confident enough not to care. I was curious to know which it is."

"Well, I'm not going to confirm or deny anything." He was definitely going to have to have a talk with the team when he got back.

There was a long pause with only the jostling of the cart down the rutted highway to break the silence. Sokka quietly tested his bonds. The metalwork was solid, each link melted closed. He might be able to reach over and get his sword from Ty Lee's side but wielding it before she could apply her pressure points again … not good odds on that.

"You know, your hair looks nice grown out. In a month or two you'll be able to put all in a knot and look like a proper Fire Nation man." Yeah, there was that dewy eyed look again. She was leaning against the side of the carriage looking lost in some foggy but pleasant day dream. "I know the perfect ornament, too. And there's a cloak I think would look great on you as well. I can hardly wait to go shopping."

Sokka raised an eyebrow. Something definitely weird was going on here. "Do you normally dress up your captives?"

Ty Lee blushed and giggled. "Only the ones I plan on keeping."

"You – what?"

"Besides I can't have you going to parties looking like a common shopkeeper."

Sokka's jaw dropped open. _She's insane_. Catching himself, he gave the side of his head an awkward scratch and searched for the most diplomatic words he could to voice his growing awkward discomfort. "You know, traveling by carriage and sleeping at inns is refreshingly civilized way to be held against my will. And I can't argue against hedge-gopher. But you _do_ realize I have the moral obligation to try to cause you trouble. I don't think the rest of the party guests would appreciate my presence. I am your enemy – not your date – you do know this, right?."

Ty Lee laughed and waved a hand as if shushing him down. "Oh Sokka, you aren't my enemy. You are just misguided. Once you come over to the right side we are going to have a really great time together. I know it! Check out our auras! They are perfectly compatible!" Ty Lee held her hand next to his and looked up at him with expectation.

_She's utterly batshit bonkers_. Grimacing Sokka tried again. "Uhhhhh… how do I put this gently. You are _very_ pretty, and nice and, whew, flexible. But I do have a girlfriend already, Ty Lee. I'm already taken." _Please don't kill me, crazy lady._

Ty Lee's smile vanished. Her eyes took a sharp and disapproving look. "Suki, right?"

"Right – wait, you know her? Oh yeah, spies." When he got out of this, he was going to pay a lot more attention to the people around him. His stomach squirmed to think that the enemy was keeping track of his romantic life, what little of that there was.

Ty Lee shrugged her shoulders, as if the mention of a romantic rival didn't bother her. "Sokka, I know you've spent no more than three weeks with her – total. That's not exactly a serious commitment. Besides, she wears make up so heavy you can't even tell what she looks like, and those clothes! She might as well be wearing a tent. My breasts are bigger, my waist is smaller, my hair is prettier. And can she put her feet behind her head? I think not! Can you really find her more attractive than me?"

It was a pretty convincing argument – but how to say that it was Suki's personality, her strength, her soul as much as her looks that attracted him. Well he could say that – no he couldn't because Ty Lee would simply come back with her own personality which wasn't really all that bad. And she was plenty strong in a fight. Ty Lee had already discounted the "enemy" argument, and that just left "because you are crazy" which didn't seem politic to bring up.

"And anyway," Ty Lee continued. "It's not as though we have a choice. Azula gave you me as a reward. It would be a huge insult to her if I refused the gift. After all, she was being really thoughtful, and that's pretty rare for her." There was a bit of apology in Ty Lee's voice.

"Now hold on a second," said Sokka, finally having some safe ammunition. "I'm not Azula's to give. I don't care how mighty a princess she is, you can't just order someone to fall in love. It's not the way it works."

Ty Lee stared quizzically. "Sure it is. I admit don't know how it is in the Water Tribes, but Fire Kingdom Soldiers have been taking captives as their wives since this war began. While it's not nearly as common for our women to take foreign men as husbands, it's far from unheard of. It's a considered a form of healing between the nations – the victors taking care of the defeated."

"Husbands? Healing?" Sokka choked. "Wait, wait, wait, this is going way too fast. Just when did I go from being bait to betrothed? I thought this was all about you guys getting the Avatar. Are you seriously telling me that Azula ordered you to marry me as some symbolic peace gesture? Don't I get some kind of say in any of this?"

"Well, of course you are also bait." Ty Lee's expression suggested that he was saying something very silly. "And no, this isn't some great symbolic act or anything like that. I just like you. So don't put yourself down. I would hardly kidnap just anyone. You are quite a catch."

She just likes me, great. Team Avatar better come rescue him before he ended up with Zuko as his best man.

-------

Sure to her word, the food at the inn was delicious, the room spacious, and the bed was soft, and if it weren't for the fact that he was chained to a support beam and had a guard staring at him all night long, he would have probably forgotten he was a prisoner. This was the most luxurious treatment he'd gotten since the months in Ba Sing Se. Which come to think of it was also a form of imprisonment, or at least a frustrating distraction from his goals. You know if this kind of thing kept up, he was going to start becoming paranoid any time someone was nice to him.

Sokka stretched, enjoying the softness of the bedding. He turned his head to the other person standing, stiffly in the room. "Good morning, Fire Nation guard person."

His guard grunted. Then grudgingly muttered. "Morning."

Sokka pulled off the bedding and propped one foot on his knee. He stared balefully at the fetter on his ankle. Now if he were Katara, he could use the water in the pitcher next to his bed and cut his way through, over power the guard and escape all stealthy-like back to their last camp. If he were Toph, he'd bend the chains, and turn them into missiles to cut down the guard and then burrow his way through the hillside to safety. If he were Aang, he'd bend the chains, use the pitcher of water to overcome the guard and then fly out the window.

But he wasn't any of them. No quasi-religious command of the elements was going to save his butt. No spiritual intervention. No he was on his own, just his brain verses the situation. First rule of order, get the lay of the land. It had been dark when they'd arrived and between the carriage and the building, he hadn't really gotten much of an idea of where he was.

Standing up he made a deliberate show of lazy stretching that somehow managed to take him all the way to the window. The guard was watching his every move. "Looks like a beautiful day," he said.

The view was magnificent – the way views only could be if there was no ground anywhere near by to obstruct them. Sure enough, just after the two story drop to rugged boulder strewn ground, there was another drop of maybe a couple hundred feet to the tops of some pretty tall looking pine trees. Not very promising.

"Step back," ordered the guard nervously.

"Oh come on," protested Sokka, "I'm not suicidal." He waggled his foot making the chain snake about the plank floors. "Besides hanging by my foot over a cliff isn't exactly my idea of entertainment."

The guard relaxed, and Sokka turned back to the view. This time he scanned the sky. Peering hard into the scattered cloud cover, he saw a small puff of white moving swiftly towards him. That had to be Appa, no doubt looking for clues.

Now if he just had a way to get their attention. But how would they pick him out -- one random person in a random window of a random building in a village they had no reason to know he'd be? He could wave a flag with his name on it. No. No, he couldn't. No flag, no writing utensils. Jump out the window and hang by his ankle? Maybe if he timed it just right…. On the other hand, nah, most likely that would just break his ankle. A spot of dew on the window sill caught the morning sun and briefly dazzled him. A signal! Now that could work.

Ideally, one would set up these signals ahead of time, but these weren't ideal conditions. In fact at the rate Appa was headed in Sokka's direction, he really only had a minute or two to execute any plan before his window of opportunity literally passed him by.

Shiny objects… shiny objects.

Sokka grabbed his brass hair clasp from the end table. With a quick glance over his shoulder to assure him that the guard was indeed watching his every miniscule move, he made as if to put it in his hair, feigned a problem then brought it down into the brightly lit windowsill to examine it. No, not doing anything important, Mr. Guard, sir.

He did his best to reflect the sunlight back towards Appa, but it wasn't readily apparent if he was successful or not. He tried jiggling the flat side of clasp up and down, reassured to see a little disc of refected light hitting the top of the sill. The cloud that was Appa seemed to subtly alter its trajectory. Encouraged Sokka rocked the clasp back and forth more vigorously.

"Oh look! What a cute little cloud!" came a voice over Sokka's shoulder. "Moving against the wind, quickly and in our direction!"

Sokka quickly palmed the clasp and directed a broad smile at Ty Lee. "Good Morn—"

And that was all he got out before she did her jabby thing to his back again. Next thing he knew he was sliding bonelessly onto the ground.

Ty Lee took the clasp from where it had fallen from his limp hand and waggled her finger at him. "Sokka, no fair giving the Avatar clues ahead of time! We can't have him finding you yet, we aren't ready!"

"My mistake," gasped Sokka. Hell even moving his mouth was hard. "If you could just fill me in on the plan, I'm sure I'll do a better job keeping to it."

Ty Lee laughed. "That's why I like you so much. You're so funny. I was going to get us some breakfast before we started our day, but since I can only assume you managed to signal your friends, I guess we better just move on. I'm not really up to fighting the Avatar and two master benders all by myself." To the guard she called out, "Wrap him up and put him in the cart."

While Sokka worked to free his limbs from Ty Lee's paralysis, the guard chained his hands and legs again, rolled him into a blanket, and hefted him, awkwardly over his shoulder. It was uncomfortable, degrading, and rather stuffy.

Now this was what being abducted should be like.

-------

Ty Lee was more chatty on this leg of their journey. She didn't say a word about whatever trap Azula was laying for Aang, but she did manage to touch on just about everything else, from the intricate table manners of the Palace to the best way to clean circus animal cages. Despite his natural inclinations, Sokka found himself feeling increasingly more sympathetic to her.

It wasn't that she complained. In fact she was almost insufferably positive about everything life threw at her. It was just that Sokka couldn't imagine himself not being, well, _furious_ if he were treated the same way. The South Pole hadn't exactly been a cheerful place, what with the periodic Fire Nation raids. But at least he could count on his father and Katara and Gran Gran to notice if he were down, and to offer some sympathy. Ty Lee's parents ignored her to a degree that bordered on neglect, except for when they had her perform, like some trained pet, for the entertainment of the local nobility.

When then-Prince Ozai had all but bought her to be a playmate for Azula, she had been unspeakably happy, despite Azula's terrifying idea of 'fun and games'.

"You are serious," said Sokka. "She lined you up against the wall and played 'Fireing Squad' with real fire?"

"Knives too!" Seeing his horrified expression, she laughed. "Well, she did aim to miss. And how else was she to hone her skills?"

"I can think of one or two ways that don't involve putting your best friends in mortal danger."

"But you see, that was part of the point. If we'd been people she didn't care about, she wouldn't have been as motivated to do her best. If she couldn't control her own feelings towards us, her hand would shake, and she'd put us in greater danger. By attacking us, she sharpened both her mind and her body at once. And it was our duty and our privilege to help her train."

Sokka sighed. "I know this makes sense to you, but I can't help but think it's completely barbaric. Don't feelings matter at all to you fire benders? Does it always have to be about dominating others?"

Ty Lee's smile faded momentarily. She sighed. Then the smile was back. "I think that's why it's such a good thing we invaded the other Nations. It gives us a fresh perspective on things. I think sometimes we get so wrapped up in our own beliefs, we don't realize that other people can see things differently. When I went to the Earth Kingdom, I saw a side of people I never would have seen if I hadn't been part of an invasion force. It was really amazingly educational."

"You, you, you," pressed Sokka. "Your education nearly destroyed my tribe – and you were even worse to Aang's people. They don't even exist to educate you anymore. Don't you people ever think about the needs of other nations? Other people?"

"Of course we do," she countered. "Fire, water, earth, air, under it all we are all the same species. We all have the same needs. If your people hadn't fought us so hard, if they'd just yielded to the superior force, we wouldn't have had to decimate them. The Air Kingdom was a loss – but that happened long before any of us were born. We can't help that now.

"Each of our peoples has a strength – a place in this world. The Fire Kingdom's place is to rule and enforce order. It's natural. The Earth Kingdom is meant to build and create. The water kingdom to support, heal and nurture. When the war is finally over, we will be as one body in harmony again. That's what Fire Lord Sozin said."

Sokka leaned back, aware of the thick metal bracelets on his wrists, and the unyielding links that held them mere inches apart. "So it's the place of my people to be your emotional support. How is that going?"

"With great difficulty – your people are quite stubborn."

"You said yesterday that your soldiers often took wives from other nations. Were any of those people from _my_ tribe."

Ty Lee nodded. "Quite a few, actually. You didn't think that we just kept your people in prisons forever did you? A year, five, ten, eventually nearly all renounced their tribal affiliation, and accepted being part of the Fire Nation. All but the most stubborn were eventually released some place where they could do the most good. Many of the younger ones married – had children – lived out their lives in peace and harmony."

"Were any of their children water benders?"

Ty Lee shook her head. "One or two learned to bend Fire -- but no. Not a single water bender. Not even when the Fire Lord specifically tried to breed for one. It was a bit of a disappointment, actually. But apparently what a person bends is tied more to culture than to heredity."

There was silence between them for nearly an hour, during which Sokka refused all her attempts to engage him. He'd known, of course, that the Fire Nation had stolen away many of their best people. Somehow knowing that their spirits had been broken in jail and that they'd gone over to the enemy made his stomach ill.

And that's what Azula meant to happen to him.

No, he'd resist. All nations under the rule of the Fire Lords was not balance. It wasn't his duty to be supportive. Well, okay, maybe supportive of the Avatar, but not of the Fire Lord.

The terrifying part of it was that it made a kind of sense. He could see how the Fire Nation could misinterpret submission for acceptance and surrender for peace. Not a single water bender had been born from the those taken from his tribe – never mind the "trying to breed for it" comment – that was _really_ bad. If Water and Earth came under Fire's rule, would they cease to exist as completely as the Air Nation had even without the genocide?

Sokka looked out the small barred window, but the tiny patch of sky available to look at had no sign of his friends.

"Will you be honest with me, Sokka?" Ty Lee's trademark smile was gone.

Her seriousness perked him up, and made him relent. "Yes, I'll try."

"Is it me? Or is it the fact that I am Fire Nation that repulses you?"

"I—"

"I know you must think I'm crazy, expecting you to be happy at the idea of being with me. And I know you are probably thinking you need to reassure me, and tell me what I want to hear. But I really do want an honest answer. If we'd both been born to the same side, would you at least consider me as a girlfriend?"

Sokka felt her expectation settle uncomfortably on him. "I – don't honestly know. It's hard for me to think of you without thinking of our backgrounds." Sokka lifted his manacled hands, then dropped them back into his lap. "I can say that you are really cute, and smart, and talented, and those are the things that usually attract me. But I can't know if there would be a spark between us, that's only missing because I'm tied up at your mercy.

"But if you were part of my tribe, I'm sure I'd have at least invited you to go fishing with me."

"Fishing?" She quirked up her brows in disbelief. "Does that qualify as romance in the Water Tribes?"

Sokka straightened up. "Two people, on a small boat, together… alone… for hours? That doesn't strike you as romantic?"

"Well, if I were Water Tribe, I guess it probably would. But I guess by the same reasoning, this carriage ride could be rather romantic as well." There was just a wisp of hope in her voice.

Sokka sighed and stared straight down at his metal bound wrists. "If we were both Fire Nation…. I think even if I were raised in this culture, I wouldn't like being just told who I had to marry. Diplomatic marriages happen even in the Water tribes, and I just don't agree with them. Marriage should be about love and compatibility – not healing nations or rewarding someone for their service.

"I'm sorry, Ty Lee." He looked at her eyes. "I can't see beyond the chains."

She let her gaze drift downwards. "I understand." Then just as suddenly as if a switch had been flicked, her sunny smile was back. "We are at our destination, Sokka. And I'm really glad I had a chance to spend some time with you first, to get to know the real you. I'm really hoping you won't be changed too much."

As if on cue the carriage came to a stop. Sokka looked out the window and saw a heavily built and forbidding building. The door opened on a wide bare plaza, and two rows of prim looking Fire Nation soldiers, faces hidden behind forbidding masks.

Soldiers closed on him, reaching into the carriage and pulling him bodily out. Though he worked to keep up with their long strides, the fetters on his ankles tripped him up and within steps, he was being dragged down the line of soldiers towards the heavy plank door of the fortress.

One person stood out, a man watching him closely with a small smile on his face. Though his dress was in the typical reddish hues, the shape of his face and the long queue was reminiscent of a different place. It took Sokka about ten paces to recognize it – Earth Kingdom.

Sokka's mind flashed to his memories of the Dai Li.

And then to Joo Dee and Jet.

And it all fell into place.

He struggled in his captors grip and tried in vain to sweep a leg out to trip one of them. It was hopeless, there were too many of them. Craning his head over to where Ty Lee followed, he pleaded with his eyes. "Don't let them do this to me! Ty Lee, I won't be me anymore. You won't be content with someone who loves you because he has to. Ty Lee."

The soldiers pulled him up to the foreigner, who reached out a hand and caught Sokka's chin. "Well? What is your decision?"

For a moment Sokka thought the Dai Li officer was talking to him, but Ty Lee spoke up. "Servant," she said. "Make him think he's my servant." She then spoke to Sokka. "I could have him make you love me, but you are right, I wouldn't be happy. If you want me as your girlfriend, you are just going to have to woo me, the proper, non-cheating way."

She turned away, but not before Sokka saw the sad look on her face. The Dai Li officer nodded and with a brisk gesture, the soldiers carried Sokka into the building.

-------

All thoughts of romance disappeared as Sokka was tied to a chair in a dark inner chamber. He looked at the circular track and the lamp. The metal door, the three men standing expectantly near the walls. He twisted his head as soldiers fixed a peculiarly bitter tasting gag to his mouth. Then recoiled his tongue as he realized he was being drugged. His head began to feel funny and light almost immediately.

Must not think of Aang, he told himself. Clear my mind of the invasion. Stupid and helpless. Stupid and helpless. They'll turn their backs and…

Jet had broken his conditioning. That was a hope.

Aang could find him. Any minute.

Ty Lee had been doubtful – maybe she'd feel some sympathy or remorse. She'll come back…

The lamp whooshed to life with a casual gesture. Then it began spinning, slowly around its track, round… and round… and round… And someone started speaking in a slow, gentle monotonous rhythm, to the timing of the light which flickered and blazed, flickered, blazed… and the words seemed to pulse themselves into his head with the dull slow thumping of a funeral drum.

Sokka unconsciously bit down on the gag releasing more of the drug from the hidden sponge within. Only the straps around his forehead and chin kept him from slumping away, as even the lamp flame itself seemed to dim.

-------

Azula moved away from the door where the prisoner was being held. He hadn't stirred to even acknowledge her presence, just stared at the walls with large blank eyes. The Dai Lee officer closed the door carefully, then led her back up the stairs to his office.

"As you see, your highness, it goes well. Another two or three days and we will allow him to wake up. He will believe that he is Fire Nation, born and bred. But should you need him to temporarily remember his real history, all you need do is say the trigger phrase. He will fall into a dream and do as you tell him, and when he wakes up, he will have no memory of the trance."

"Excellent," Azula said.

"However, it would be best to keep all things that would remind him of his past away from him."

"Noted." Azula rubbed her chin thoughtfully. "So she wanted him as a servant. Odd."

"That was her request, your highness. She was most firm."

"Ah well," said Azula. "It really isn't my concern. But… having him be an uninvolved servant really doesn't suit _my_ needs, so I'll have to over rule her. Place some affection in him. Some idealized love. Just… tone it down a bit. It would be more diplomatic if they both thought it were natural."

The hypnotist nodded. "As you wish, your highness."


	2. Step 2: Gather Allies

Ty Lee paced the _tatami_ floors Azula's "battle chamber". One of literally hundreds of themed meeting rooms the greater Palace grounds had to offer, this was smaller than most – a stand alone building in far corner of the East Gardens. Except for when Azula asked to use it, it remained locked up, all but forgotten. Little more than a gazebo it had large paneled doors that opened on the spectacularly crafted views of the meandering streams and artfully trained trees. From the brazier in the center of the room, Ty Lee knew it was exclusively meant for solemn traditional tea ceremonies, and not casual get-togethers, much less dirty scheming. Ty Lee's court trained sensibilities felt a bit bruised, but there was no arguing with the princess.

That was Azula's thinking at work: let other people's expectations hide her intentions. She could plan her strategies far from the servants that bustled, _and spied_, around the main houses. Anyone could be seen approaching, and from a distance it looked the Princess was merely drinking tea with a few friends, and perhaps indulging in some light reading – poetry perhaps. Not crafting plots that came so close to treason it made Ty Lee's teeth ache.

If Azula's father ever caught on... He wouldn't be pleased to know the extent he'd been kept in the dark on her _side projects._ Though Azula never, ever spoke of deposing her own father and taking the throne, there was something in her manner that suggested that her plans didn't end with the current Avatar crisis, and the schemes she shared in this lonely beautiful building were just a small part of some greater plan known only to herself.

And smack in the middle of all this, caught up like a rat, was Ty Lee. No way to refuse, no forgiveness in agreeing. Know way to even guess what was to come. All she could do was smile, smile, smile, and _trust_ it would all work out.

Usually it did… but sometimes it didn't. Lately it hadn't quite a bit. While failure normally meant recouping and trying again in a new way, that wasn't the case here. Ty Lee could see a dozen ways she could end up with a broken heart out of this, even if Azula got what she wanted.

And Ty Lee resented that. It shouldn't surprise or annoy her that Azula would use her feelings as fodder in her war. After all, Azula risked Ty Lee's life readily enough. But somehow it seemed less fair and more personal. She just wished she knew what Azula's real plan was.

Ty Lee paced around, then finding that insufficient to calm the restlessness in her limbs, she tried a few positions. There was little room for doing anything more than stretches and bends, but by concentrating on her body, and the flow of chi within her, she was able to quiet her mind.

The faint sound of voices alerted her and she looked up from the lotus position to see Azula walking down the petal strewn path, followed closely by Mai and Zuko. The Princess walked slowly, turning her head from side to side, as if admiring the breathtaking views at each step. Ty Lee knew better, Azula never dropped her guard. She was looking for traps and scouting for spies. It was really sad in a way that Azula couldn't appreciate the benefits of the life that she fought and schemed so hard for.

Behind her, Mai and Zuko seemed equally oblivious to the greenery but their reasons were different. They leaned into each other, alone in their own universe. Their eyes saw only each other their lips moved in quiet conversation.

Ty Lee stared at the way Mai's hand was folded into Zuko's. Then she looked down at her own small fingers with disappointment. How warm it must be to feel someone's hand around hers. How sweet. She'd never held Sokka's hand, but she could have. It wasn't like he could have stopped her.

She regretted not opting to turn Sokka into her boyfriend, even if it was a risk. The thought of the unconventional warrior made her heart flutter. At odd times during the day she found herself mulling over the shape of his face. The memory of his voice made her shudder. Even his smell was strangely alluring. She thought of him at night, and felt a deep, pleasurable ache inside. Now seeing Mai's hand softly wrapped in Zuko's, her own hand felt a phantom tingle and her heart a pang of frustration.

He was in her grasp. He could have been _hers_, no doubts, no worries, but instead she'd pushed him away in a fit of hurt feelings. _Why_ had she done that? Why?

Yes, it may have been cheating to force the issue through mind control, but did it really matter how he came to want her? She _wanted_ him. She _deserved_ him. And Azula had all but foisted him on her. She had no one to blame but herself, and now pride wouldn't let her go back to Azula and tell her that she'd changed her mind. More than pride, actually, it flat out wasn't safe -- Azula had no respect for the wishy-washy. Ty Lee feared Azula's wrath more than anything.

At least the opportunity for romance was still there, she hadn't completely thrown away her chance. She could seduce Sokka the ordinary way. Charm him with her skills and personality. Hey, it worked on all the other guys, no reason to suspect that Sokka would be immune.

But Sokka wasn't like those other guys, he was better. _Leagues_ better. Ty Lee paused in her stretches and frowned. He could have his pick of girls, easily, why would _he_ settle for _her_. She didn't even know if Sokka found her remotely attractive. The carriage ride should have made it clear but it hadn't. All that conversation, all that time, and the one thing she truly wanted to know, he'd kept from her. It would be agony to have him always near her, to want him and not have him want her back.

"Good, we are all here," said Azula, breaking her train of thought. The Princess climbed the stairs to the room, pausing at the rice paper door, to slide off her heavy outdoor shoes and don in their stead lighter silk slippers. With an almost offhand thrust of her arm she set the brazier alight.

Mai and Zuko settled themselves comfortably on the pillows, but Ty Lee found her muscles didn't want to relax, so she went to sweep the few stray leaves that had blown in, using the small broom left behind by the servants for that purpose.

"In a few minutes," said Azula, settling herself comfortably down across the brazier from Mai and Zuko, "I'm going to introduce you to a new friend. I want you all to make him feel very welcome, no matter what your natural inclinations are." Her eyes narrowed on Zuko. "You especially, brother. You've been grousing about this being a hen party, well, here's another rooster for you to spar with."

"What are you talking about?" growled Zuko.

"I'm saying that I have a very good reason for having this new friend join our cozy foursome." She swept her eyes to include Mai. "And I'm not going to have you mess it up. So mind your manners. As contrary to your natural temperament as it must be for the two of you, try to be friendly. Smile occasionally." Azula demonstrated. The effect was somewhat terrifying.

"Do I have to?" intoned Mai dryly.

Azula leaned her head back, smile gone. "And Ty Lee, if nervousness is making you restless to do something, you could start the tea. It's less distracting than you fluttering about."

"Yes, Azula," said Ty Lee, flicking the last of the leaves out the door with the tiny broom. She washed her hands in a china basin, then set to preparing the tea.

"So who is this person, and why are we pretending we like him?" Zuko pressed. "And why does Ty Lee look like she's swallowed a lemon."

"This is a way to solve our problems, especially yours Zuko." Azula stretched and rolled her neck. Her aura burned with an intensity that belied her casual tone. "Ty Lee has been in on this from almost the beginning, so she knows what's coming. Two weeks ago I dispatched her to pick up one of the Avatar's closest companions. She succeeded without incident, as expected, and he's now waiting for my word to join us."

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "You want us to be chummy with one of the Avatar's friends? Are you crazy?"

"I hope it's the water girl," said Mai. "She seemed less annoying than the others."

"You weren't listening, Mai," said Zuko, "She already said it was the boy."

"I heard," said Mai. "I just hoped I'd misheard."

"Sokka is _not_ annoying," Ty Lee spoke up. She dumped a handful of washed tealeaves into the pot with a bit more force than was strictly necessary. "He's cute and smart and funny."

"Oh, I get it," said Mai. "This is to fix Ty Lee's boyfriend problem. Honestly, I don't see why she couldn't just settle for one of the million Fire Nation guys who adore her. Why go shopping on the other side?"

"I do _not_ have a boyfriend problem!"

"Settle down," said Azula with a chuckle. "And don't be silly. This isn't about solving Ty Lee's boyfriend problems. This is about capturing the Avatar."

Azula stood up, and started to pace. "You see, that's the trouble we've been having all this time. We can catch up to him, sure, no trouble. Between Zuzu and myself we've done that a dozen times already. We can even defeat him. But we can't hold him. That is where we've always fallen down. No chains, no prison, no amount of guards will keep him down for long. Not even death itself.

"_Unless…._" Azula stopped and smiled. "Unless we can convince him to join our side."

"That's not going to happen," said Zuko. "He won't be persuaded."

"Not naturally, no," said Azula. "But I don't intend on limiting myself to natural means of persuasion. You all remember the techniques in mind-training used by the Dai Li?" She let her voice hang on the rhetorical question, and curled her lips into a conspiratorial smile.

"You intend on brainwashing the Avatar?" asked Mai. A rare smile graced her face. "Oh that should be fun to see."

"Oh I see. And Sokka is a test of this theory," said Zuko. "You've already brainwashed him to believe he's on our side, and now we are supposed to welcome him into our little group, so you can see how well the process works."

"You know, Zuzu, I like it when you show you can think. And Mai, exactly. With the Avatar at my side, I will be invincible."

"I think I like the irony of this," said Mai. "But it all seems too easy."

Zuko said nothing but looked fiercely the floor in front of him. One of his hands closed in a fist, but then let go. He looked up a moment later he looked up, quiet but watchful. Ty Lee wondered what he was thinking.

Azula's eyes were on her brother, even as she replied to Mai. "Yes it does. And it's not without considerable risk. The damage he could cause should his conditioning slip would be tremendous. That's why we must find an excuse to keep Sokka close to us – watch his every move. If there is even a suggestion that his conditioning is deteriorating I need to know." Azula sat down on her pillow and poured the tea. "The timing for this is tight at best. We have less than two months before the eclipse. On that day, the Avatar had better be fighting on my side, or dead. Which it will be depends on Sokka. Speaking of which, it is time for him to join us. I will be back in a minute."

Azula stood again and put on her shoes. "Remember, mind your manners. And shhh!"

"Well this is drag," said Mai. "I'm no good at entertaining people, and I have no interest playing babysitter to some Water Tribe buffoon who got himself caught up in world events."

"Well you don't have to worry about that," said Ty Lee, pouring herself some tea. "Sokka is my problem, not yours."

"This is going to end in disaster," Zuko predicted.

"If only he were just your problem, Ty Lee," said Mai. "Azula made it clear this is a group effort. Why couldn't you have fallen for one of those guys at the beach? They at least had some breeding. Sokka is so… crass. I hope he isn't one of those bathe-once-a-year types."

"Oh like Zuko is some wonderful catch," Ty Lee. "All brooding and angry and lashing out every ten seconds."

"Hey, I'm right here!" Zuko sat up, then his eyes focused beyond Ty Lee's ear. "Both of you shut up already. They are coming."

Ty Lee turned and saw Azula leading Sokka up the path. She was surprised to see Azula hadn't dressed him in the servants uniform, but rather in an outfit not too dissimilar to the one she'd seen him in before. His topknot was held by a catch that was just a shade too fine for the working class. Which was just as well, because he didn't walk like a servant, or mind his mistress like a servant. His eyes were on the scenery, and Ty Lee could tell he was looking at the flowerbeds, and not scanning for assassins.

Ty Lee's heart fluttered a bit and she felt a pleasant warmth in her face. Gone was Sokka's glum, pessimistic pout. In its place was a look of excitement and interest. He seemed so handsome with the frown lines gone and his eyes wide with wonder.

Ty Lee rose as Azula mounted the steps, Sokka a step or two behind. "Let me introduce you to Ty Lee's new apprentice," said Azula. Sokka paused in removing his shoes to bow deeply, palm to fist. "This is Sokka."

Ty Lee's face fell. _Apprentice?_ That wasn't what she'd requested he be. Ty Lee's chest began to flutter with worry. What did Azula expect her teach him? _How_ was she going to teach him? She wished that the princess had bothered to tell her of this development.

"You'll have to forgive his rough manners," said Azula, seemingly oblivious to Ty Lee's distress. "He was raised in the colonies. His father recently died heroically defending the Fire Nation, his final dying wish was that his son come back to the homeland. I've taken it upon myself, in an act of extreme charity, to see to it that he finishes his education here."

Sokka hung his head and looked faintly embarrassed. "That really wasn't necessary," he said. He peeked up to see Mai and Zuko's sour expressions. "_Really_ not necessary."

"You don't question a Princess," scolded Mai sharply. "Especially when she's bestowing a great honor on you!"

Sokka blushed deeply and waved his hands as though frantically shooing the notion away. "No! I – I didn't mean – I mean, honored! I am! Yes – and now I'll shut up."

Azula, standing just behind Sokka and safely out of his eyesight, put on a fake smile and pointed to her cheeks. With great effort, Mai managed to curl her lips upward. Zuko refused.

Meanwhile Sokka was scratching his head, and incidentally scruffing up some of the shorter hair on the side of his topknot. "So… which of you will I be apprenticing under?" He looked at each of them with some trepidation on his face.

"That would be me!" said Ty Lee brightly. "This is going to be fun." She schooled herself. "But tough. Very tough."

Sokka immediately relaxed and held his chest. "Whew, it's the nice one, I was scared for a moment that I'd have the -- " Sokka brought his mouth abruptly to a halt, realizing he was on the verge of insulting Mai and Zuko. "Not that you two wouldn't be excellent masters, I'm sure. I can tell by your look that you are both really good at whatever you do. And you too, Ty Lee. Fun and tough sounds – sounds good.. and Hi. I'm Sokka. You already know this..." He finally petered out.

"This is your idea of shutting up?" asked Mai coldly.

But Zuko snorted. A small somewhat ironic smile curled on his lips, as if he'd been reminded of some bittersweet memory.

"And I guess I'm going to teach you how … to do my reflex point technique?" She checked with Azula, who nodded. Azula must be pretty confident that the Dai Li's conditioning would last. It would be horrible to add her own signature skill to the enemies' arsenal. "Say, Azula, would you mind if I talked to you privately for a moment before getting Sokka settled?"

"Not at all," said Azula. "Zuzu, why don't you take Sokka to where you usually practice sparring. Check to see how good his hand to hand is. Ty Lee and I will catch up in a minute."

Zuko and Mai, put down their teacups and stood up. "Come," said Zuko to Sokka. "I hope you are good, because I don't intend on going easy on you."

Sokka gave a bow to Ty Lee and Azula, then followed. "I'm good! At least, I think I am. Actually, I have no idea. It's possible I'm terrible."

"Oh, would you just stop babbling already," muttered Mai, following the two of them out of the building.

Ty Lee watched as they took one of the paths out of sight, then turned to Azula, who had seated herself on one of the pillows and poured another cup of tea.

"I thought he was going to be my servant," said Ty Lee. "When did that change? What do you want me to do with him now?"

"Don't be silly, Ty Lee, if he was a servant he'd be mixed in with the household staff and next thing we know he'd be set to cleaning water closets all day. You'd never see him and I wouldn't be able to keep track of him, and there is even a faint chance that he might come to my Father's attention." She sipped delicately. "This is the next best thing. You can still have him fetch your meals and do your laundry if it amuses you. Just call it training. He won't know better."

"I wish you'd tell me what your plans are," said Ty Lee, bitterly. "I don't have a training routine made up for him. I don't even know where to start."

"Relax." Azula smiled. "It doesn't matter. Have him do breathing exercises or stretches, or flips. Whatever. He's not actually going to learn your technique after all."

"He's not?"

"Honestly, Ty Lee, if I thought him capable of learning your Chi blocking, I would have come up with another solution. But if _I_ couldn't master it, I highly doubt that Sokka has the right talent for it. In any case, it doesn't matter if he learns or not, he will have an excuse to be with you wherever you go."

Azula winked. "And you will have your chance to make your moves on him. I know that's what you want. I could see it written all over your face, the moment you looked at him. You don't _really_ want him as a servant, do you?"

Ty Lee blushed but said nothing. Was she really that transparent?

"But as for training, I don't really care what you teach him," Azula continued. "There are only a few more weeks before the showdown with the Avatar. He won't have a chance to learn anything too novel in that time, anyway. What I care about is that he accepts us as his friends and that he willingly agrees to participate in this war – on our side."

"You are going to have him fight the Avatar?"

"Wouldn't it be delicious?" Azula noted the horror on her face. "Oh Ty Lee, I'm not going to get him killed. I promised that Sokka was yours, and yours he is. I may borrow him on an occasion, but I'll bring him back, without too many scratches."

Ty Lee pursed her mouth. "I trust you Azula. I just don't know what you want from me. Do you want me to seduce Sokka? Is that part of some bigger plan of yours?"

"Do what comes naturally, but don't deny your heart," said Azula. "You deserve some happiness Ty Lee. As strange as it may seem, I really care about you. Under that cheerful facade I can see you longing for more. I can see you finding that bliss with Sokka. I approve, and I hope that the two of you have a long and happy life together."

Azula put down her empty teacup and stood, giving Ty Lee's shoulders a quick squeeze. "Shall we go and see how well my brother is doing with him?"

------- ------- ------- ------- -------

"For the gods' sake, stop running away!" Zuko commanded. "Fight me like a man, not like some scared small animal." He dashed forward, attempting to grapple Sokka.

"I don't know-- fighting you like a scared small animal seems to be working in my favor," said Sokka, deftly scrambling out of Zuko's grasp. He feinted left, and dashed right, trying to circle behind Zuko, but the prince caught on and with a quick lunge and then sweep of his foot he tripped Sokka to the dirt floor of the enclosure. Sokka rolled and dashed off in a new direction, Zuko at his heels.

Twelve feet up one of the walls that enclosed the sparring ring, Mai leaned out over the spectators rail and watched the spectacle. She turned as Ty Lee and Azula approached.

"How goes the sparring?" Azula asked.

"Depends on how you define 'sparring.'" Mai leaned on her crossed arms and stared down. "So far it's more farce than fighting."

"You can't evade me forever!" said Zuko. "You are just going to wear yourself out. And what are you trying to do? Climb your way out? You coward!"

Sokka was indeed climbing one of the walls, but as Zuko approached to pluck him down, the younger boy kicked off, planting one foot solidly in the middle of Zuko's chest on his way to the ground. Zuko coughed and staggered back a bit. Then he whirled, his hands automatically curling into a bending stance.

"Hand to hand, hand to hand," reminded Sokka, shaking a finger. "Bending's cheating. I don't have a weapon."

He stepped just a bit too close, and Zuko finally caught his arm. Grinning fiercely, the prince pressed his advantage and in moments he had Sokka flat on his back, arms pinned to either side of his head. Zuko sat across Sokka's upper thighs then leaned forward his mouth twisted in a triumphant smile. "Do you yield?"

Sokka turned his head and looked up at the audience. His eyes met Ty Lee's and suddenly turned pleading. "Master!" he called out plaintively. "Help! Zuko's trying to molest me."

"WHAT?" Zuko jumped off, horrified. "I am _N_ --!!"

Sokka scrambled up and twisted his leg under Zuko, sending the prince falling backwards. A moment later their positions were reversed, with Sokka sitting on Zuko's hips and holding the prince's wrists to the ground. "Gotcha!" he said smugly.

"That's not fair," said Zuko.

"Hey, all's fair in love and war," said Sokka, standing up. He offered Zuko a hand, but the prince turned it down, in favor of pushing himself off the ground.

"You lost, Zuko," said Azula, barely containing her laughter. "You might as well admit it."

"I didn't lose," denied Zuko. "I got him first. He wasn't following the rules. Any rules. I have no idea what that style is. It was so random -- there was no honor to it. How was I supposed to counter that?"

"Hey, no hard feelings," Sokka looked thoughtful. "You are bigger than me and stronger than me, and I'm pretty sure you've had a lot more training than I have. My fighting style was pure desperation. And I only won because you stopped fighting."

"He was being innovative," said Azula taking the stairs to the floor of the sparring field, Mai and Ty Lee following close behind. "If I were you, I'd try to learn a bit of Sokka's non-technique. After all, when you are on the battle ground it's not as if your enemy is going to follow your rules."

"Well if he isn't abiding by my rules, I'm not going to abide by his. I declare this a draw."

"Good enough," said Sokka. "And actually I would like to learn the real rules for this kind of fighting – if that's allowed," Sokka immediately.

"I'll leave that up to my brother," said Azula. "If he feels like training you, he will."

Sokka went completely pale. "Y-your _brother?_. You mean I just sparred with the _crown prince?_" Sokka turned and bowed deeply to Zuko, clapping his hands in the proper position. "I deeply apologize, your highness, for accusing you of molesting me. Please don't cut off my head."

"Pshaw. I'm not going to cut off your head." Zuko snorted. "I'm not going to do anything with you. You are Azula's project. I'm done here." He gestured roughly to Mai. Mai snickered slightly but let her face go placid when Zuko leveled a glare at her. The two then walked climbed the stairs leaving Sokka stunned to silence in their wake.

------- ------- ------- -------

Sokka was still shaken when he got to his assigned quarters. "Why didn't anyone tell me?" he said to Ty Lee, who clucked sympathetically. He threw himself into the mattress and buried his face in the crisp linen sheets. "The crown prince!" He banged his head against a pillow. "I am just a country clod!"

"I didn't realize you didn't know," said Ty Lee. "I mean, you knew Azula was a princess." She sat on the edge of his bed and reached a tentative hand out to touch his back.

"I knew she was a princess because someone _told_ me!"

"Oh, Sokka, you don't need to worry about it. Zuko's gruff on the outside, but he's not cruel. If you made him really mad, he'd have called you out for an honor duel. Since he didn't do that, it's safe to say he didn't mind that much."

Ty Lee's fingertips tingled. She was only touching his clothes, but he wasn't recoiling. Her belly tightened with excitement. Embolden she stroked his shoulder with a firmer touch. He didn't shy away, and she felt a thrill knowing that he _trusted_ her. Now if only he'd give up this moping and pay attention to her.

It was both strangely thrilling and also frankly terrifying taking the initiative like this. Usually Ty Lee would simply be her cheerful self and the boys would come and hit on her. She knew how to play _that_ game easily. She could manipulate a boys attention any direction she chose, play him, use him, abuse him, leave him. So easy. Once she had his attention.

She gently rubbed Sokka's back in sweeping movements, and she could see his aura growing brighter at his touch, but he really wasn't paying attention to her. He was too locked down in his own shame to even consider her. She frowned. Mmm. Maybe now wasn't the time to flirt. He was simply too distracted.

"I've been here less than a day and all I've done is be an embarrassment," Sokka moaned. He suddenly sat up and turned to her, his face bright red. "Do you think Azula will send me back to the colonies? Have I totally blown it?"

Ty Lee laughed at the absurdity of the idea. "I think it's _very_ safe to say that Azula won't send you back." She gently squeezed his shoulder. "And as for Zuko -- you just caught him off gaurd. I think once his pride has healed, you may find he actually likes you. Just… don't expect him to be chummy."

"There is no way I expect to ever become chummy with the – oh god, I accused the crown prince of molesting me." Sokka buried his head in a pillow and screamed.

Ty Lee rubbed his back. It already felt natural. "There, there. You insulted him, but it was in such a cute way. Even Mai thought it was funny."

Sokka turned his head. "If Mai's his girlfriend, she must be from some influential family, right?"

"Yeah, she comes from one of the oldest, richest, most stuck up families in the whole Kingdom. But she's a good person, really, once you get to know her. She just needs to warm up to you."

Sokka rolled over onto his back. "And you? Are you also from one of the richest, most influential families?" His embarrassment seemed to have faded, but in it's place was a look of deep confusion.

"Oh no," said Ty Lee. "Hardly. I come from a long line of civil servants. My dad handles the Fire Lords correspondence. My mother organizes court entertainments. If Azula hadn't noticed me as a child, I'd probably be folding napkins and setting silverware for the next banquet. Or possibly still doing my act in the circus… hard to say." Ty Lee touched her chin thoughtfully.

"In any case, I'm just as much a commoner as you are – and that should tell you something. Azula doesn't care about your breeding. She only cares about what you can do for her. As long as you keep showing her that innovative side of you, you don't have to worry about being fresh with Zuko."

He frowned. "But Azula is younger than Zuko. He's the heir. Why does he defer so much to her?"

"Well, I'm sure after you've been around Azula for a few days, you'll be able to answer that one yourself."

"She thinks I'm innovative, huh." Sokka relaxed. "It seems strange that she'd just pluck me up out of the boonies and drop me in with her friends. It makes me wonder what exactly my father did to earn her favor. But I guess if she's done it before, I shouldn't be so surprised."

Ouch, that was getting perilously close to a line of thinking that Ty Lee didn't want him on. "Come on, let's stop mulling over the past and concentrate on learning. We can start with some stretches."

------- ------- ------- -------

"Yes, Zuzu?" asked Azula, with just the faintest annoyance in her drawl. "What can I do for you?" She looked up from the page she was writing, and cocked her head with faux innocence. It had taken Zuko nearly an hour to tack down where his sister was, she had a tendency to never be around when needed and always there when inconvenient. It turned out she was dealing with her correspondence in the outer chamber of her own apartments – a logical place he should have checked first. She knelt on a silk pillow behind a glossy lacquered desk looking the epitome of propriety. A small arrangement of scrolls lay in an open chestnut box beside her, while a short stack of parchment awaited her brush.

She did not say, "I'm busy, go away," but her body language conveyed her weariness at his interruption.

Zuko pursed his lips and felt the skin of his face redden. Something about his sister always put him off guard, no matter how well he felt he had prepared himself for their confrontations. He refused to let her condescendingly childish address derail him. Nor would he let her body language put him off. This time there would be no pandering, no answers that seemed to satisfy, but in fact told him nothing. This time she'd level with him. He was not one of her lackeys who followed her with blind faith, nor would he just do what he was told like a good little soldier. For the gods' sake, he was the crown prince.

"I need to talk to you about –" he began.

"Not here," she interrupted. For a moment the viper in her voice came though. He could see the serpent in her, coiled up behind her eyes, looking out at him. The superstitious part of his soul felt a pang of horror, and he broke eye contact.

Her voice was back to oily sweetness in the next breath. "Let's take a walk, Zuzu. The skies are clear, and there is nothing like fresh air to aid a pleasant conversation. I could use a break from all this tedious bureaucratic nonsense, anyway."

She put down her brush, and nodded to one of the ubiquitous servants, who quickly scuttled in to tidy up her desk. Smoothing down her robes, she walked past Zuko out the door and towards the gardens. Zuko followed, slightly hunched, realizing with a slow burn to his stomach, that once again Azula was framing the agenda in her favor.

Still he couldn't argue with it. He gave a backwards glance to the servant. Was he a spy? And if so, for whom? Did Azula know? Suddenly the halls seemed darker, and more forbidding. The people whose job it was to fade into the background suddenly stood out, and there were so many of them. One cleaning the hall, one carrying a package, one just standing outside a door, waiting to be called on. Every one of them had eyes and ears and thoughts and loyalties.

Zuko hated it. He missed his days in the Earth Kingdom, where, so long as he did nothing to stir attention, he was ignored. He missed the days before his exile, when he never gave a second thought to the servants, or palace intrigue and infighting. He'd lived secure in the knowledge that as long as his motivations were honorable, he had no secrets to hide, and that all of them were on the same side. It was embarrassing to think how naïve he'd been.

But at least then he'd been happy. Now he knew he walked on the edge of a knife, disgrace, dishonor, and even death awaited his misstep. And the only one left to guide him through this maze of expectation was the one person he knew he couldn't trust.

"The gardeners did an extra special job this year," Azula was saying in her most you-really-have-nothing-to-worry-about-calm-down voice. "While you were gone, they got rid of those ugly spreading yews near the stream and planted lovely annuals."

"I liked the yews."

"Oh, Zuko," said Azula, tutting. "Must you always be so contrary? Can't I even make a simple remark about the greenery without you and I being at odds?"

Zuko stopped on the path and stared. She was putting him on the defensive again. They were out of sight of house, there were no servants around. He'd gone far enough. "I want to know what your real plan is."

Azula raised an eyebrow. "My real plan? It's just what I said it was."

"I'm not as clueless as you might think," said Zuko. "And I'm not without outside connections either. What did you think you were doing, kidnapping the Avatar's companion like that. You know what Aang is doing right now? He's tearing up the countryside. LOUDLY. Looking for Sokka. And he's not going to give up either. How long is it going to take before Father hears of it and knows that we_didn't kill him_."

Azula sighed.

Zuko pressed. "You knew this would happen. You knew as soon as you took Sokka that the Avatar would throw away what little stealth he had. That he'd become frantic. He'd do anything in his power to get his friend back."

Azula put up an arm to stop him. "Yes, of course, I knew it, Zuko. I'm counting on it. There would hardly be much point in taking Sokka if the Avatar was willing to abandon him. His desperate antics are quite amusing – and reassuring. If anything, you should be comforted knowing that the Avatar is so far off his game. He should easily fall into our trap."

Zuko flushed. "Our trap!?" He grabbed a random branch and broke it. "Your trap you mean. Do you think Father will wait to find out if your trap works before exiling me again? Or worse?"

"Which is why I made sure that _my_ people are in place to intercept any hawks that might inform Father before I started this venture. Zuko, you've been gone for a long time. Perhaps you haven't noticed, but Father doesn't get out much. Perhaps it is a guilty conscience, but he fears assassination. There are many who do not think his ascension over uncle Iroh to be legitimate. And they are right, of course, and Father is quite right to be careful. These days the only ones who come near him are his generals and his toadies. And me. His Generals are all focused on fighting enemy armies. His toadies are focused on making him happy. And _I_ believe what he doesn't know won't hurt him, or us."

Zuko felt a wave of relief. But following, like some bitter chaser, came a greater fear and respect for Azula. Her influence must have crept like a cancer while he was gone. And he didn't believe for a moment that she was doing any of this for his benefit.

As if reading his mind Azula patted his back. "I know we didn't have the most friendly relationship growing up. But I wish to make amends. You will be the Fire Lord one day. Hopefully by then you will have forgiven me for my childhood trespasses." She smiled. "I'm not going to throw you to the wolves now. In a few short, short days, it won't matter that that the Avatar is alive. You and I can present his adorable brainwashed little hide to Father, fait accompli, and you can finally relax."

Zuko's stomach hardened. "Don't patronize me," he growled. "This is all your idea, you aren't going to share the credit with me."

Azula's sharp eyes caught his. "But there you are wrong. I have every intention of sharing credit with you. I want you on my team, Zuko. And if it means allowing you to steal a bit of my thunder, that's perfectly fine with me. I have little interest in praise anyway, I get my rewards in other ways."

This was wrong, terribly, terribly wrong. Zuko could feel it in his soul. "In any case, we should just kill him. It would be safer. We can brainwash his next incarnation."

Azula bent her head again and tutted. "We've already gone that route and where has it gotten us. You might not be superstitious – and lord knows I certainly am not – but after a while you have to get a sense that there is some divine force behind his survival. Your stunning lack of success with that assassin just confirms it."

Zuko thought of Iroh, who'd been hinting this for months now. Iroh who had ultimately acted on that belief and was now being cruelly punished for it. It was a painful path his mind wanted to take him down. Zuko didn't want to betray his Nation. He wanted to do the right thing. He wanted to relax and be as happy and accepting of the circumstances as Ty Lee and Mai. And yet… _Damn it, why should the things I want most be so at odds with each other?_

"Well then," said Zuko slowly, "Maybe we shouldn't be opposing him. Maybe he is on the side of right after all." There, the words were out.

Azula looked hastily around then grabbed the back of Zuko's head in a painfully strong grip. He felt her nails dig crescents into the tender flesh below his ears.

"Don't speak treason, brother, not even when we seem to be alone." She released him. "I thought you had more sense than that!"

Zuko turned to face her, stepping back and unconsciously bringing up his hands to a ready state.

Azula waved his stance off. "Oh stand down. Save your sparring for Sokka." She started walking towards one of the decorative bridges that crossed the placid garden stream. "You've been listening too much to Uncle Iroh. He's a dangerous influence on you. You should stop visiting him."

Azula paused, turned around, then rolled her eyes at Zuko's refusal to follow. "There is another way to interpret this, Zuko." She waved him towards her. "If you give me half a chance I can put your mind at rest."

Zuko's brow knit, but then he followed her. Was there a way out of this conundrum? "What other way is there? The gods are on the Avatar's side, not ours. They are protecting him. You said it yourself."

"Have you considered, perhaps the gods are not so much against the Fire Nation, as protecting us from our own shortsightedness?" asked Azula. "Think of it Zuko. We have the means to bring him around to our side. We have him here in our grasp. It's the chance of a lifetime, laid in our lap. All we need do is have the intelligence to seize it. If the gods were so against the Fire Nation's ascendance, the Avatar would have put it down 100 years ago.

"But instead he disappeared right as the Fire Nation started the war! Is that not a sign from the gods of their approval? And now at the very end, when we have all but won, he is back, to help the Fire Nation return the land to peace and reestablish balance again. A new balance, a true union of all people under the same banner. Eternal peace."

Azula gestured expansively. "Don't you see what an opportunity we have here? Ba Sing Se fell just in time to give us the technology to bring the Avatar to our side. How could that be anything other than the gods smiling on us? This is our destiny, brother. Don't reject it – don't fear it – embrace it."

Zuko looked at the ground. There was nothing he could say to her reasoning. It made sense. And yet – it this was Azula. He couldn't trust her, no matter what she said. She was not his friend. She didn't have his best interests at heart. She wanted something from _him_.

"When our Father passes on, and you take his place, you will have the Avatar at your side, and no one will ever question the legitimacy of your actions."

"And what of you, Azula, what do you want as a reward for all your actions?"

"Peace," said Azula wearily. "It is tiring always being on my guard. Always having to defend myself against rivals. Always worried that people are judging my actions. I will be quite content to play a supporting role to a quiet empire. You will be a good Firelord, Zuko. I can see it."

_A good Firelord –_

Zuko swallowed painfully hard as a jolt of fear ran through his nerves like lightning. It was crazy, Azula had her eye on the throne, and he was in her way. Unless--

Unless his opposition made no more difference to her than the Avatar's. Than Sokka's.

"The technique of the Dai Li is the answer to all our problems, Brother," said Azula.


	3. Step 3: Test the Hypothesis

A/N: Thanks for all the compliments! I really appreciate them! I'm sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. It was a combination of things, but mainly that Christmas kicked my sorry butt hard, and I got bit hard by inspiration to work on my original fic, so I put wrote about 16,000 words of that instead. That and getting the interaction between Sokka and Ty Lee just right was a lot harder than I thought it would be.

**Step 3: Test the Hypothesis**

Sokka contemplated his toes. They never seemed quite so far away as they did right this minute. His fingertips hung inches above them. Not good enough. With effort he managed to bob low enough to just brush the tips of his fingers against the nails, and as he did, something in the back of his knees complained sharply. He straightened out and felt his spine pop ominously. "There. Toes touched."

Ty Lee had squinched up her mouth to one side, as though she were chewing on a particularly tough peace of jerky, or possibly pondering a difficult decision. "Well," she said after a long second, "That's… a start. And we all have to start someplace, don't we! Do it some more." She broke into a bright infectious grin again.

Sokka resisted the urge to goofily grin back. _No, Sokka, no!_ He had to show Ty Lee that he was serious about training. He'd gotten off on the wrong foot already, and lost his chance at having Zuko train him in hand to hand. Now, despite Ty Lee's smiles and encouragement, he could tell she had serious doubts about training him as well. It was there in the slightly tight curl of her lip, the almost wince that she controlled every time he did something she asked. As though she had deep seated doubts about him, but was just too damn nice to admit it.

Worse he was having a bit of a crisis of imagination about this training himself. _What kind of fighting is she going to be teaching me that requires a lot of foot touching?_ He looked down at his feet. "How many times do you want me to touch my toes?"

Ty Lee's smile slipped again and she looked blank. "I don't know. Twenty." Her smile sprang back into place, but again there was that slight furrow in her brow that made Sokka nervous. What did it mean?

Sokka frowned, but then went back to trying to touch his toes. _Master says, apprentice does, that is the way of things._

It was just that Ty Lee wasn't _anything_ like what he expected his Master to be, and it was throwing him off guard. On one hand everything he did seemed to make her happy – on the other, nothing truly did. And he really wanted her to be happy, wanted it more than anything he could ever remember wanting in his life.

Ty Lee -- he'd fallen in love with the name from the first time he heard it. It sounded firm and kind. It had the flavor of better things to come, of belonging, and family, and hope. Of everything he sorely missed in life. His master, Ty Lee.

He'd been on pins and needles at the thrill being trained by an actual fighting expert the whole carriage ride from Loong Quan to the Palace. In his mind, he envisioned an old, grizzled man, covered in scars and muscles, showing him flashy moves with a sword. He'd spun his expectations into a wondrous father/son relationship, something that filled the aching void of loneliness in his heart. He'd imagined long evenings sitting at the foot of his master, listening to the pearls of wisdom and feeling warmed by the knowledge that he'd done well.

But then Ty Lee turned out to be a girl no older than himself. That pretty much killed the father/son fantasy cold. What's more she was an extremely _attractive_ girl. Distractingly attractive, and to top it off she was _nice_. Not to belittle the hospitality of the Princess, but it seemed like he'd been surrounded by nothing but burly, humorless, _well armed_ companions for days. It was frankly quite nice to see someone who genuinely seemed to like him.

But it was nerve racking as well. What was the proper amount of deference? Where was the comfort line with her? What was he supposed to do? He'd already stuck his foot deeply in his mouth once today, he didn't dare do the wrong thing now. It was so easy to let his mouth run away from him, maybe say something a bit too fresh, too off color, and end up with a slap.

He was pretty sure that girls generally didn't appreciate boys getting drooly and stupid on them. But right now he couldn't quite muster suave and confident. And yet it was taking just about all of his willpower to remember that she was his _master_ and not someone to hit on.

_If I could just impress her with my skills… yeah, that's the way to go._

Touching his toes was really starting to make the backs of his legs burn.

"Yeah, that's right," said Ty Lee. "Now see how deeply you can bend with your back straight." She put a gentle hand between his shoulders, and swept it down to the small of his back. It felt nice. Really, wonderfully, _inappropriately_ nice. He wondered if Ty Lee had a clue what it was doing to him.

_Nice thoughts… pure thoughts… She doesn't mean anything by that, it's just training._

But man, oh man, Ty Lee wasn't making this easy. For one thing, it was hard to miss that he was doing his training in her bedroom. Her bed, the place where she _slept_, was just a few feet away. The bed was neatly made, covered with a girlie pink duvet with an adorable stuffed turtleduck perched a top a heap of pillows. It all looked rather soft and squishy and inviting to rest and let her do more of this back touching she seemed to like.

No, he wasn't supposed to be noticing these things. He was supposed to be thinking about his feet. Which were a bit hairy, now that he was looking that way. And his big toe could use clipping. And his legs were rather scrawny, and his knees a bit knobbley, and his underwear… a bit yikes-I'm-almost-naked-y.

He felt vulnerable. And cold. And really unsure why Ty Lee needed him to undress in the first place -- after all, he fought Zuko _perfectly well_ with his clothes _on_. Did he really want to use a fighting technique that required him go into battle like this? Maybe if the idea was to convince the enemy that he was completely insane…. He stopped and looked up at her suspiciously. "Is the no pants thing really necessary?"

Ty Lee's cheeks pinked. "Your clothes would have hindered your movements and I wouldn't be able to see how you were stretching properly. Really, that's all it is." And a perfectly good reason it was. Now Sokka felt stupid, and he'd embarrassed Ty Lee at the same time.

_Stop being so paranoid,_ Sokka chastised himself. There was surely a good reason for everything: that pained look, the exercises, the reason for him even being here in the first place. It would all come out in time, he just had to be a bit more trusting and ignore that itchy feeling in the back of his mind that there something odd going on here.

He pushed his fingers toward his feet trying to keep his back as straight as he could as he bent. Sixteen, ouch, ouch, ouch, Twenty. "Okay, done," he said, standing straight again. He straightened up and shook his shoulders. More back pops. Ow. "Though, Master Ty Lee, I'm not really seeing how touching my toes is going to be much use to me in battle. Unless my opponent is really, really, really short."

Ty Lee giggled. "This is flexibility training Sokka. For the pressure points to work, you will need to get yourself into position without the enemy being able to attack you. That takes a lot of agility. The enemy doesn't normally just stand still for it."

"Flexible. How flexible are we talking here?" Sokka crossed his hands over his bare chest.

Without a second's hesitation, Ty Lee bent over backwards until her hands touched the backs of her heels and her head poked between her own loosely garbed legs. She then lifted her own feet off the ground and rolled until she was lying, belly down on the floor. She straightened her arms and arched her back up and greeted him with a sunny smile as though this were the most comfortable series of maneuvers a person could do.

Sokka gaped. "That's… _awfully_ flexible. I—don't think I can do that."

"Of course not," said Ty Lee rising amazingly gracefully to her feet. "It takes years of training to get in this shape. I've been working at it since I was three."

"And I have to be able to do that back bendy thing in order to do your pressure point technique?" Sokka meantally did the arithmetic – sixteen now, plus twelve years of training meant he'd be ready just about the time he became officially _old_.

"Maybe not quite _that_ maneuver. But you should be able touch your toes without wincing." Ty Lee looked thoughtful. "Actually, flexibility is just one part of it – it's getting to the points to press. The heart of the technique is mental, and I suppose you can do it without doing all the flips and things I usually use. Really, all you need to do is learn to manipulate your opponents chi."

"Their what?"

"You know, the colors you see around their body."

"The colors…" repeated Sokka stupidly. "Of…. their… clothes?"

"Of their auras, silly!" Ty Lee laughed, then she grabbed his hand and flipped it over. "See the color coming off of your hand – see how it moves about you, like a shadow made of light? Right now yours is dark yellow – almost brown, which means that you are really stressed out and full of doubts."

Sokka studied his hand, turning it over slowly. He saw the calluses on his palm and tiny white lines of old scars across his knuckles but nothing like a brown light coming from his skin.

Ty Lee put out her hand. "Here, look at my aura… can you tell me what color you see?"

Sokka froze. _Should I lie? Will I lose my last chance at being taught by a master if I say I can't see anything? Should I guess? But what if I guess wrong? How can I possibly learn a technique if even the first lesson is beyond my abilities?_ Sokka saw Azula clearly in his mind. She sat on the tatami mat in the tea house, her arms folded against her chest, and her narrow brows pulled down in a furious frown. _"Well I've given you the chance to work with two masters and you blew it with both of them. I'm afraid I'll have to send you back to the colonies. What a useless thing you turned out to be. Your father would be so disappointed."_

The moment stretched painfully. And then Sokka made the hard decision.

"I don't think I can learn from you, Master Ty Lee," said Sokka very softly. He turned his head in shame. "I don't think you can teach me your technique."

"I'm sorry," Ty Lee said, no smiles, nothing but pained disappointment. Sokka turned his gaze away, embarrassed and angry at himself. He heard her hesitate for a long moment, then she said, somewhat more optimistically: "I think there's a scroll in the library, maybe it will help us both learn how to do this…"

She turned around and walked to the door, opening it with slow determination. Sokka dared look up, then swallowed in shock. When her face turned as she headed out the door into the hall, he noticed a tear on her cheek.

"Don't give up," she said, still turned three quarters away from him. "I won't fail you. Just… stay there. I'll be right back." And then walked away, turning the corner and disappearing behind the white washed wall.

_I've just insulted her teaching skills._ Sokka realized as her last words sank in. _Told her she couldn't teach_.

"Wait," said Sokka, racing forward. "I didn't mean it that way! What I meant was that _I_ don't have the skill… I'm the problem." He ran out the door only to find his way being blocked by the biggest damn servant he'd ever seen. He literally bounced off the man's expansive stomach. Then stopped in his tracks to look up. The man was using a long thin bamboo broom to sweep the cobwebs off the ceiling, but when Sokka attempted to skirt around he lowered the shaft to inconveniently bar Sokka's way.

"Hey," he said. "Let me through… Ty Lee!"

Ty Lee turned around and seemed to notice the servant. "You, shoo!" she said. The servant did, giving Sokka a somewhat hostile glance as he went. Sokka glowered back at him, but then turned back to Ty Lee just in time to catch her wiping her face with her sleaves. "I told you to wait in the room for me." She seemed to have a fragile hold on her composure, but her voice was brittle.

"Wait, Ty Lee," said Sokka, "What I meant was that I'm not sure I'm good enough for you – not that you are a bad teacher. I just want to make that clear."

Ty Lee smiled, there was a gleam of hope which then seemed to dim. "But that's the problem, Sokka. I'm not a good teacher. I don't know what I'm doing. I've never been successful teaching anyone before. I wanted to impress you and I ended up losing your confidence. It's just that, I want so much to… to … be someone you … liked." Her voice took on a hysterical edge. "But, it's not working, even with all this. I don't even know why it's not working. I mean, boys always liked me in the past, why not you, why not now? I'm sorry, I've never had to work this hard before to gain a boy's attention. And now I haven't even finished my first lesson and you don't want to be with me anymore."

Sokka slapped his face. "You have it completely backwards. I'm the one not worthy of you, not the other way around. You… you are amazing, and you can do things like see auras and bend into twisty knots. Of course, I want to be around you. I just don't see what you could possibly see in _me_."

Ty Lee hugged him. "But you are the sweetest, smartest, coolest boy I've ever met." She rested her forehead on his shoulder.

"If by cool you mean 'dorky,' I think I can buy that." But Sokka's heart warmed and he hugged her tight. "I want to be with you so much Ty Lee. You are the first person in… well, ever… that I really feel comfortable around. I feel like I belong here with you, holding you. Like it was meant to be." He nestled his face against her neck, all thoughts of keeping his place forgotten.

Ty Lee melted into him. But then after a moment pulled away. "Will you let me teach you then?"

"You can teach me anything."

"Then… let's go back to my room. If we keep hugging in the hall the Palace rumor mill will accuse us of all kinds of scandalous behavior by sundown. And trust me, that's _not_ a good thing."

They walked back to Ty Lee's room, her hand seeking his, and he taking it. Sokka's mind was abuzz. _She likes me_ he thought. _She thinks I'm cool_.

-----------

Hours later Sokka felt anything but "cool", and not just because he was soaking in water hot enough to turn his skin red. What he felt like was _old_, as in let me talk about my bunions ancient. Apparently he had muscles in places he never considered before, like the inside of his thighs, and along his stomach, but oh howdy he knew they were there now. Ty Lee had twisted him in positions he didn't even know were physically possible, and strictly speaking some of them weren't, at least not for him. He hadn't really minded at the first, but gradually he started noticing that the burning stabbing pains didn't exactly stop when he untwisted himself, finally he had to beg off, or risk not being able to walk.

On the plus side, it gave him the perfect excuse to take a nice long soak. One thing about the Fire Nation, hot water was never scarce. None of this waiting a week for a turn in a luke warm barrel, or worse taking a dip in the ice cold ocean. No putting up with your neighbor's pungent man-musk, either. Everyone smelled like flowers and spring water.

Ah, luxury… it was almost worth the complete lack of privacy.

"Ahem," said the person who Sokka had been more or less ignoring for the last minute.

Sokka let his eyes drift open, and scanned lazily over the artificial hotspring. Slow drifts of steam rose above the stacked pools, pushed about by the draft coming from the high open windows. He saw one of the ubiquitous servants standing near the door looking pointedly down his narrow nose at him.

"There's plenty of room, climb in," said Sokka. He was the only one in the baths at the moment, but there was room for a dozen or more. "Don't mind me."

"Sir, the Princess has asked for you."

Sokka jerked into a sitting position, and winced as his body complained. "Why didn't you say that!" He scrambled to his feet and waded to the edge of the pool, trying not to trip on legs that were embarrassingly wobbly. The servant didn't exactly sneer in just the same way that all the other servants in the place didn't exactly stare at Sokka as if he were an intruder. Not that Sokka really cared about the attitude, after all, he was the favorite of the Princess, not them.

He managed to hobble down to his clothes, bent like a grandpa and tender on his feet. _On second thought, maybe I should have cooled my muscles with wet cloths rather than soaking them with hot water. _He never could remember when you did which – after all there was always… someone else … tending him when he was hurt.

Who was it? Sokka paused, clenching his eyes momentarily shut as he searched his memory, but for the life of him he couldn't remember who it had been who'd spoken to him about the remedies. He _knew_ someone had lectured him on it. Maybe it was just fatigue and heat making his brain stupid. Yeah, he could almost believe that.

He shook his shoulders to rid himself of a chill, then put on his shirt. He then turned to the servant. "Okay, lead the way."

The servant took him from the bath house along a maze of roofed walkways to one of the inner buildings. To either side smaller gardens opened up, many with small calm pools, others filled with sand and rocks and everywhere peaking from both greenery and water were sculputural accents. He was lead through a delicately carved red door to a set of interconnected rooms, and finally to the princess herself.

Azula knelt on a pillow at a low writing desk, seemingly not noticing their approach. Sokka noticed frown lines etching her brow as she carefully sealed a roll of parchment with ribbon and wax. As they came within a few feet she looked up and her face smoothed.

"You've found him, good job," she said, then waved her hand in dismissal. The servant bowed and turned to head back out the door. Azula then turned her attention to Sokka.

Fighting stiffness, Sokka bowed deeply, fist to palm. "Your highness? Is there anything I can do for you?"

"Sokka," Azula savored the name. "So how did your first training session go?"

"Well, ma'am."

"Shall we test how well Ty Lee taught you? Ready for a duel?" Azula stood up and began to roll back her sleeves. "Don't hold back, now. I should warn you I'm not as generous as my brother when it comes to incompetence."

Sokka's eyes bugged out and his jaw dropped. At this point he doubted he could even dodge a fire attack. "No! I mean, no your highness, I've just started learning, I couldn't possibly… please, don't fry me!"

Azula laughed, hands on her hips. "Of course, I won't, Sokka. I'm just teasing you." She sat down again and rolled out a map of the fire nation across her desk, holding down the edges with small obsidian rocks carved into the shapes of dragons. "How were your lessons? Are you enjoying them?"

"I like them a lot. And Ty Lee is an excellent teacher." Sokka found himself fascinated by the map. It was higher quality and more detailed than map prints he'd seen before. He tried to read the upside down names.

"Gossip has it that the two of you have hit it off quite well," Azula stated. "I hope you are treating her honorably." There was just a trace of warning in her tone, but her eyes were on setting out ink and pens.

Sokka reddened. "I would _never_!" He swallowed hard. So this is what Ty Lee meant about regretting hugging in the hall. Who knew what stories those nosy servants had concocted. "Whatever you may have heard, I've been a gentleman."

Azula smiled. "I'm still teasing. I think it's cute that you and Ty Lee get along so well. In fact, I rather hoped you would. Sweet thing she is, she's been rather lonely since I pulled her away from her circus life. Not that I regret doing so, mind you. Talent like Ty Lee's is not something I can afford to squander. But to the extent that I can, I do wish to make her happy. She is one of my dearest friends." Azula sighed.

Then her eyes snapped to his. "So with that in mind, tell me how you feel towards her, and do be honest." Sokka recognized an order and he scrambled to use the most diplomatic words he could to satisfy the princess.

"I think she's the nicest person I've ever met." Sokka toed the ground awkwardly. "Ever since I first saw her, I seemed to feel some connection to her. I want to protect her, and learn from her, and be around her. You don't have to worry about me hurting her – I'd never do that."

"Well for what it's worth you have my full endorsement to woo her if you wish. She needs a steady boyfriend, and not one of those brainless twits that always flock around her. You have intelligence and integrity and I believe that you care about more than just her body."

"Thank you, your highness." All these compliments were making his head swell.

Azula smiled "I'll tell the servants to mind their business about you. One of the perks of being a princess, people mind you when you tell them to do things."

"Well," said Sokka. "It would be nice not having them staring at me like I was some kind of worthless spy."

Azula's eyes sharpened. "I will definitely speak to them about that as well."

"Azula," said Sokka hesitantly. "If I may ask, why are you doing all this for me?"

"Selfish reasons, I assure you," Azula said with a deep rolling chuckle. "I have big plans for you, Sokka, don't you doubt it. You work on your training and keeping Ty Lee happy. Enjoy your time here. I will be putting to your unique talents to use sooner than you know. I won't tolerate anyone making your life here miserable, so please, don't hesitate to come to me if anyone is giving you grief."

"Thank you, Princess," said Sokka, amazed and grateful. "I won't let you down."

"I'm sure you won't." Azula looked deeply into his eyes and Sokka saw a glimpse of something behind the superficial concern and mild amusement. Something sharp, and cold, and for lack of a better word _predatory_.

-----------

"You are dismissed," Azula said, watching him intently.

Sokka blinked. For a moment there, he'd seemed to zoned out, and his head was still a bit buzzy. Too long a soak, he rationalized.

Azula's lips quirked up into a smile, and then she turned her attention back to her work. She gathered up a set of ribbon bound parchments and put them in the wooden box to the side of her writing desk. Where had all those come from? They hadn't been there a moment ago.

"I'm rather busy, Sokka. It's nearly supper, you must be hungry. Go on, I'll talk to you more about your progress tomorrow." She craned her head to the door, and clapped her hands. A servant stepped out and bowed. "Take Sokka back to Ty Lee – and fetch me some dinner from the hall. You know the things I like."

"Sir," the servant said to him.

Sokka bowed to Azula and followed the servant, still a bit dazed. He reached up and rubbed his forehead, even though he didn't have a headache. His hair was dry, even the odd ponytail. He lowered his arm and saw something odd on his hand. For a second he thought it was dirt – but how had his hand gotten dirty in the few minutes since he'd left his long soak? He examined the smudges closer and recognized the bluish tint to the black.

He had ink on his hand. A narrow streak on the pad of his thumb, like it might get if he'd dipped his brush a bit too deep and brushed up against the lip of the inkwell. A second dark smear crossed the heel of his hand, as if he'd been writing and his hand accidentally touched the still wet page.

He hadn't written anything since he'd arrived in Loong Quan, and even if he had, the long bath would have removed it. Yet the ink on his hand was dry and didn't smudge when he rubbed it. It had been there for several minutes at least.

Sokka's heart quickened. He'd lost time. His memory problem was getting worse.

It was bad enough that he couldn't actually remember his father's face – that the more he thought about the small Earth Kingdom village he'd grown up in, the more uncertain he was of anything about it. He _knew_ he'd had friends. He _knew_ he'd chased girls. He _knew_ he'd learned how to use a sword, and sail a boat and dozens of other skills ranging from important to completely useless. But when he put his mind to it, everything grew foggy and indistinct. Faces blurred, settings shifted, names eluded him entirely. It was like his entire life before coming to the Fire Nation were just a lingering dream, half remembered, half imagined.

He hoped to god it was some transitory illness, perhaps brought on by stress or a hard knock on the head, and not the dementia of the old. He was barely sixteen – still working on becoming the best man he could be. He couldn't become like those drooling old men with sour smelling breath who couldn't recognize their own children. It wasn't fair. He had so much he wanted to do in life.

He mustn't let anyone know about it. There is no way Ty Lee would want a guy who was losing his mind. And Azula would drop him quickly if she realized that he might not be of use to anyone soon. And what would happen to him then? Alone and friendless with no family in a strange place. Sokka didn't want to think about it.

The worst of it was he thought he was _sure_ he was getting better. His memory was sharp enough from the time he'd left the fortress at Loong Quan. He remembered insulting Zuko yesterday only too well. But then there was that gap, it must have been several minutes at least, but who knows, it could have been over an hour. And it was simply gone, like it had never existed, not even a vague dreamlike impression in it's wake.

What did it mean? What did any of it mean?


End file.
